Destiny 2 - How to Earn More Glimmer Fast

Destiny 2 gives players the ability to earn a lot of Glimmer, but it also has mechanics in place to make sure that you’re frequently running out of it. It’s a frustrating system, if you ask me, and thus requires some thought about how you can improve your situation. Since Glimmer is used to apply shaders, mod weapons, and even infuse them, you’re going to need a lot of it. Luckily, I struggled through six weeks of Destiny 2 on console so that you’d know how to earn more Glimmer in a big hurry.

How to Earn Glimmer Fast

In Destiny 2, you earn Glimmer from almost everything that you do, right down to killing the lowest level enemy. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of dead enemies to get enough Glimmer to keep you out of the red. Still, it’s worth noting that you’ll earn Glimmer as you play the game, so the more you play the more you’ll have coming in. The problem that I run into is when I decide to start applying shaders to all my gear. Painting my helmet with a Legendary shader sets me back 750 Glimmer, which isn’t a small amount when you’re applying it to an entire outfit. It gets worse with your ship, though, as slapping a Legendary shader on that will set you back 15,000 Glimmer. It’s robbery!

Open Region Chests

One way to earn Glimmer quickly is to visit each planet and clean out all its Region Chests. These are marked on the map as symbol with dot in the middle of it. Each one you open can give you some gear, but after Power level 265 it’s unlikely you’ll find much value from that. However, each Region Chest will give you 1,000 Glimmer, and there can be quite a few on each planet. Load a planet’s map in your Director and look for any Region Chests. There is currently some debate about whether they respawn, with Guardians claiming they absolutely do. I can’t confirm that one way or another, and Google was no help on this one.

Heroic Public Events

Heroic Public Events will take longer than farming Region Chests, but they never stop coming. You can spend your entire day farming these to gain Glimmer, but they’re also the best way to earn the Exotic engrams in the game. Yes, it’s true that you’ll only get about 600 Glimmer per event (in addition to what you earn for killing enemies), but the loot makes it the best bang for your buck activity in Destiny 2 once you progress beyond the story. Load your Director and choose a location like Titan, where you’ll get the easiest Heroic Public Events of them all on constant rotation.

Dismantling Shaders

The shader system in Destiny 2 is kind of nonsense. Bungie won’t admit that, but it is. The system that was designed to encourage fashion in Destiny 2 does the opposite, but shaders have another purpose. See, you are bound to hate some shaders and swear never to wear them. Instead of keeping them in your inventory, why not dismantle them for Glimmer? For example, I happen to find the Dusk Mine shader kind of gross. I’ll likely never wear it. I can dismantle the stack of 22 that I have, earning 25 Glimmer for each one. That’s 550 Glimmer without leaving the comfort of the Tower. I wouldn’t advise this for consistent Glimmer income, but it can solve a small problem in a pinch.

Crucible Matches

Crucible matches are a favorite place for Guardians to spend their time. It helps you to level up fast, gain new gear, and even earn Glimmer. It’s not the fastest way to get Glimmer in the game, but you could expect to earn about 700 per round. This could vary based on the mode and your success in it, but 700 for a win is what I’ve been pulling in consistently. If you’re planning to spend a great deal of your time in the Crucible as is, earning some Glimmer in there is just a bonus.

Truthfully, you shouldn’t have Glimmer problems often. Where you get into trouble is when you start modifying weapons and applying shaders. Most of the time, though, you’ll be earning more than you know what to do with. If you need help spending it, visit our Destiny 2 complete strategy guide for some ideas.

Bill, who is also known as Rumpo, is a lifelong gamer and Toronto Maple Leafs fan. He is known for his guide writing and, unsettlingly enough, enjoys grinding out in-depth collectible articles. Tweet him @RumpoPlays if you have a question or comment about one of his guides.